This June, I had the opportunity to work on a collaboration between Danone, The All England Lawn Tennis Club and Exchange for Change to pilot reverse vending machines (RVMs) at the Wimbledon Championships Qualifying Competition - giving spectators a practical experience of how the UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will work.
As the liaison between partners, my role was to help align stakeholders and deliver a solution that could operate effectively in a live event environment. The pilot enabled spectators to purchase evian bottles with a deposit and return them via RVMs on site, ensuring materials were captured for recycling while testing how the system works in practice.
This initiative is important because the UK’s Deposit Return Scheme represents a significant step towards a more circular economy. Testing the system in a high-footfall setting like the Championships Qualifying Competition provides valuable insight into consumer behaviour and operational performance, helping to inform its national rollout.
What I’m particularly proud of is the strength of collaboration behind the project. Bringing together a global brand, an iconic venue and the UK’s deposit management organisation demonstrated how cross-sector partnerships can accelerate change and deliver practical, scalable solutions.
One of the most valuable outcomes of the pilot was the insight it provided into consumer engagement with the Deposit Return Scheme. While spectators responded positively to the concept, research showed that awareness of how the scheme works remains relatively low and that convenience is the strongest driver of participation.
The pilot reinforced the importance of making return points highly visible, providing simple and clear instructions, and communicating rewards in a way that is easy for consumers to understand. It also highlighted that reverse vending machines need to be intuitive and seamlessly integrated into existing visitor journeys if return rates are to be maximised. These learnings will help inform future implementation and support the development of a user experience that encourages widespread adoption of the scheme.
This work builds on our long-standing partnership with Wimbledon, where we have already introduced initiatives such as refill systems and reusable formats. Together, these efforts are helping to make sustainable choices more visible and accessible for consumers.
Projects like this are a strong example of why I’m proud to work at Danone. Through the Danone Impact Journey Phase 2, we are committed to embedding circularity into how we operate - not just through ambition, but through tangible action and partnerships that deliver real-world impact.
This pilot marks an important step, and I look forward to continuing to build on these learnings as the UK Deposit Return Scheme is rolled out nationally.
